Workers at Eclat Vietnam Textile Co Ltd's facotry in Đồng Nai Province. The country exported $29.9 billion worth of commodities in November, up 3.6 per cent month-on-month and 18.5 per cent year-on-year. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Phong

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s foreign trade surged 22.3 per cent year-on-year in the first 11 months of this year to exceed US$599.1 billion, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The figure reached $59.7 billion in November, up 8.5 per cent month-on-month and 19.7 per cent year-on-year, the GSO announced on November 29.

The country exported $29.9 billion worth of commodities in November, up 3.6 per cent month-on-month and 18.5 per cent year-on-year. It raised the 11-month export turnover to close to $299.7 billion, up 17.5 per cent from a year earlier, with the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) contributing 73.6 per cent of the total, or $220.68 billion, up 20 per cent year-on-year.

Thirty-four commodity items earned export revenue of $1 billion and up during the period, which together made up 93.5 per cent of the total. Industrial and processing products were the biggest earners, with revenue accounting for 89 per cent of the total exports, or $266.75 billion, up 18 per cent.

The US remained the biggest buyer of Vietnamese products, importing $84.8 billion worth of goods from the Southeast Asian country in the period, a year-on-year increase of 22.2 per cent. It was followed by China ($50.5 billion), the EU ($35.7 billion), ASEAN ($25.9 billion), the Republic of Korea ($20 billion), and Japan ($18 billion).

In November, Việt Nam spent $29.8 billion on imports, up 14 per cent month-on-month and 20.8 per cent year-on-year. The 11-month import revenue rose by 27.5 per cent year-on-year to $299.45 billion, 93.6 per cent of which was spent on purchasing inputs for production.

China was the largest supplier of products for Việt Nam, exporting to the Southeast Asian country $98.5 billion worth of goods, up 32 per cent from the same period last year. It was followed by the Republic of Korea ($50.3 billion), ASEAN ($37 billion), Japan ($20.3 billion), the EU ($15.5 billion), and the US ($14.2 billion).

The country posted a trade surplus of $225 million from January to November, compared to $20.19 billion in the same period last year. — VNS